Michael Cortes

...is the Technology Director of the Fort LeBoeuf School District in Northwest Pennsylvania, a speaker, and he is a presentation coach.

While fortunes may have given him a leadership role by making him the oldest child in his family, he has found that the leadership lessons he learned in the Marine Corps have always held true and faithful to building relationships and teams at work and in life.
He gives back to veterans as a member of the American Legion and contributes to his local technical school through the advisory council.
He recently was asked if leadership is a contest, he replied, “If leadership is a contest, then the prize is a great team.”
His greatest joy is in learning and helping others. Therefore he hopes to live the rest of his life helping people reach higher, and improving himself in the process.

His specialties include computer networks, K-12 education, government reporting and auditing, public speaking, presentation coaching, persuasion techniques in public speaking, planning and budgeting, and the Pa Information Management System (PIMS).
On three occasions, he has led his Toastmasters Clubs and Toastmasters Area to distinguished status, during his membership with Toastmasters International.
As Technology Director for the past 18 years, he has expanded the use of technology from local computers numbering at 428 to an infrastructure that now includes a wide area network, over 1300 devices and universal access of the Internet.

Named a Top 100 Most Social K-12 Tech Leaders on Twitter 2015
Vala Afshar, Chief Marketing Officer, Extreme Networks
"The stakes for educating our youth have never been higher. The next generation of citizens must be prepared for an ever-changing world, and a workplace where creativity, insight and collaborative skills are especially highly-valued. To adapt to these new realities of education, the best teachers are constantly exchanging ideas on new styles of learning to understand which ones are most successful. Social media provides an important means for educators to extend their personal learning networks beyond geographical boundaries.
To recognize the value and importance of social media in K-12 education, here is the first edition of the Top Social Tech Leaders in K-12 education. The ranking is determined by a combination of factors including number of followers, Twitter list memberships, tweet volume and content and other metrics as tallied by several social influence scoring providers. On average, these K-12 technology professionals are members of over 300 lists and have over 6,000 followers."